preoccupation

American  

[pree-ok-yuh-pey-shuhn, pree-ok-] / priˌɒk yəˈpeɪ ʃən, ˌpri ɒk- /

noun

1. the state of being preoccupied. preoccupy.

2. an act of preoccupying.

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preoccupation British  

/ priːˌɒkjʊˈpeɪʃən, priːˈɒkjʊpənsɪ /

noun

1. the state of being preoccupied, esp mentally

2. something that holds the attention or preoccupies the mind

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Other Word Forms

• overpreoccupation noun
• self-preoccupation noun

Etymology

Origin of preoccupation

1530–40; < Latin praeoccupātiōn- (stem of praeoccupātiō ) a taking possession beforehand. See pre-, occupation

Example Sentences

Soon Conor’s two preoccupations will unite in an offbeat way when a bug gets crushed in his slow-acting printer while it’s gurgling out a portrait.

From The Wall Street Journal

Obtaining dollars to buy raw materials like oil, flour or rice to then refine and process became Kazin’s chief preoccupation.

From MarketWatch

Mr. Foster dismisses their preoccupations with bionic implants or humanoid robots as MacGuffins—Alfred Hitchcock’s term for a device that momentarily advances a movie plot but ultimately fails to develop into anything.

From The Wall Street Journal

Those commanders described Smith’s preoccupation with the daily crime report, which provides the public a daily tally of nine felony offenses.

From The Wall Street Journal

The U.S.-China “electron gap,” as OpenAI now calls it, has become a major preoccupation for American tech leaders.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fixation
• obsession